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Opinion: Obama's Disarming Rhetoric

Editorial board member Mary Kissel on President Obama's visit to South Korea and the Nuclear Security Summit.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... don't know why editorial board member Mary Kissel who is also here to talk to us about the president himself when he was covering a lot of brown ... it was thanks for having me on a great time yet well ... what the president said about the North Koreans and their planned a long-range missile test is somewhat of a piece with what met my were just talking about because in his speech about it ... the president was directing his remarks North Koreans said they are imperiling negotiations ... that's pretty also said there will be no reward for provocations ... now it just for ... listeners you might not be following this the president just rewarded ... North Korea with a thirty eight program in February ... two weeks later the Norse over two hundred and forty thousand metric ton yet quite confident ... on and a very crucial time in a time when the North's new leader is trying to consolidate his legitimacy ... over these very depressed people ... um and so he he caves in to them two weeks later the North says you know what to watch the ... satellites ... in space ... and now the president is standing up and saying well ... guys you really shouldn't do that your imperiling the process we should say is ... the Steelers over percent of the first place it was a mistake ... and actually our goal is a unified Democratic Korean Peninsula ... which is actually what they were ... what they were doing right to be a botanist ration was taking that why need it the beginning ... it's a great success so it's it's really remarkable to see the sky remarks well rather than go there if you're suggesting you actually go later today ... meeting with ... Chinese President Hu Jintao ... this urge the Chinese too as he put it ... lean on the North Koreans to fulfill their international obligations ... what ... what prospects you think there is of the Chinese actually doing the whole history tells us that the Chinese have absolutely no intention of doing this weekend has been asked over and over and over again there any Forstall there any number of deals that various administrations of made ... either with the with the North Koreans or with certain Chinese political cooperation ... in nineteen ninety four agreed framework ... of the nineteen ninety eight March moratorium ... I did see the deal was done after two thousand and six missile test ... on what ... you can trust a North Korean sticking to their promises the police beating the Chinese don't perceive it ... for whatever reason in their self interest to see a unified Democratic Korea ... even though ... ironically ... hot sun of course provinces in China of course border North Korea and it would be in their interest to have more stable actor up there ... we have a piece in use in Wall Street Journal bonus of new teams with Woodrow Wilson Institute ... and he's summarize what's going on girlies from the North Koreans point of view ... there's something familiar he called the crisis created price is ... going to New ... associations and then extract concessions ... he said this is been going on for a long time he tying those deals that that's what's happening now with his long range missile ... and it's not just Crysis let's remember that the North just that killed ... more than ... thirty sailors eight numbers around thirteen forty ... in the sinking of Fitch on on ... on you've had multiple assassin editions and adoptions of various kinds of citizens South Koreans Japanese ... aam they have not been answered for ... I'm ... you know again I just wanna come back to the tothe main point ... the Obama administration is making these concessions in the story of nineteen gestures towards know why ... at and probably that the North Sydney his time at the very time when if we exerted even a little pressure ... even if he made to regulate speech tear down this wall of this to happen said let's ... tear down this fence in front of salt ... the future back again because the North Koreans are figuring out new ways to communicate with us ... and lastly to happen ... just as it is you have a South Korean president in the South Korean Pop Goes that understands ... this and this ... one as he thought that married ... the president actually one of the demilitarized zone ... I've never been there but everyone I was there and says it is one the most striking things you've ever seen in July it's like ... going to the moon know ... what you think the South Koreans are making of what has been going on here the past two days with the president there in all these comments he's making ... me how what with their takeaway ... from from from all bought into that did not stress on the may show a film there it was made by some of the previous very leftist South Korean ministrations ... that talked about peace and light ... on them to get it should a child running through ... a field of weakness was supposedly the new demilitarized and they were going to magically create ... by giving concessions not pressing for democracy ... I think that the South Koreans now understand ... the extent ... of the of the impression ... that their compatriots in North Face ... has been a very public movement ... by in support of the financing for stronger measures presently is a realist ... not added any of the North Korean leader's the last twenty years ... he's the one ... that you can talk to you about a realistic measures the price for more democracy and freedom in the north ... and I think this is a ... missed opportunity I think the stock is perceived to be so ... yell ... well into Walmart to know exactly what's going on here the president is talking to all these world leaders he said the re-election campaign ... and I can honestly Marriott than it has a lot more to do that with anything substantive ... it's going to come out of any of the speeches negotiations